We are joining Listen Up! because we want to put even greater emphasis on supporting children and young people through our services
Fatima Sultan Al-Kuwari
Group Chief Human Resources and Sustainability Officer, Ooredoo
PRESS RELEASE
Global Child Forum Welcomes Ooredoo to
‘Listen Up!’ Digital Wellbeing Initiative
at MWC Doha
Stockholm/Doha, 25 November 2025
Global Child Forum today announced that Ooredoo Group has joined Listen Up! Advancing Digital Wellbeing for Children and Youth, – an initiative aimed at ensuring that young people’s voices shape the digital environments that impact them.
The partnership was formalised on 25 November at a signing ceremony during GSMA’s inaugural MWC Doha, where Fatima Sultan Al-Kuwari, Group Chief Human Resources & Sustainability Officer at Ooredoo, signed on behalf of the company.
This strategic partnership, one that will span the coming years, reinforces Ooredoo’s commitment to responsible digital leadership and to creating safer, more inclusive online experiences for children and youth across its markets
Ooredoo: strengthening commitment to young users
Ooredoo has run a range of programmes aimed at safer and more responsible internet use, including awareness campaigns on cyber-safety, digital responsibility and “safer internet” initiatives for children and young people across its markets. By joining Listen Up!, Ooredoo is committing to go one step further: designing with children, not just for them, and incorporating their lived experiences into future digital services.
“We are joining Listen Up! because we want to put even greater emphasis on supporting children and young people through our services,” says Fatima Sultan Al-Kuwari, Group Chief Human Resources and Sustainability Officer, Ooredoo. “As a digital enabler, we have a responsibility to make sure that the products and networks young people use every day truly contribute to their wellbeing. We are excited to learn from the youth consultations, the expert community and our peers – and to use those insights to improve our overall impact on children.”
What Listen Up! Brings
Launched in 2025 with leading telecom partners Telia, Tele2, Orange and Vodafone, Listen Up! connects the digital industry directly with children and young people through structured youth consultations and stakeholder dialogues. The goal is to generate concrete insights and create solutions that help companies build safer, more inclusive and healthier online experiences for young users.
With Ooredoo’s footprint across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, the initiative will further expand its geographic reach and deepen its understanding of how children experience digital services in diverse markets.
“We are delighted to welcome Ooredoo into the Listen Up! project, alongside our partners Orange, Vodafone, Telia and Tele2,” says Ekin Ergün Björstedt, Secretary General at Global Child Forum. “Ooredoo’s strong presence across the MENA region and beyond allows us to bring many more young voices into the conversation about digital wellbeing. Together, we can move from ad-hoc consultations to an ongoing, structured dialogue with children and youth – and translate what they tell us into real changes in products, services and policies.”
Putting children and youth at the centre of digital design
Children and youth are among the most active users of digital technology—but their voices are still rarely heard in decisions that shape their online experiences. Listen Up! responds to this gap by:
- Conducting youth consultations in key markets across Europe, and other regions
- Providing actionable insights to companies on how to improve digital safety and wellbeing
- Creating a collaborative platform for telecom operators, technology companies, experts and civil society to learn together
- Supporting companies to meet emerging expectations around stakeholder engagement, including under frameworks such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
From words to action
Listen Up! was born out of conversations at the 2024 Global Child Forum at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, where industry leaders and youth representatives called for stronger collaboration on digital wellbeing.
With Ooredoo now on board, the initiative will:
- Extend youth dialogues into additional markets where Ooredoo operates
- Share findings across among our peers so that good practice can scale quickly
- Support participating companies in turning insights into concrete actions – from product design and parental tools to content policies and user support
Global Child Forum continues to invite additional telecom operators and digital industry leaders to join Listen Up! and help co-create a safer, healthier digital world for children and youth.
For more information about Listen Up! or to explore joining the initiative, please contact:
Sara Garmer
Head of Business Development
sara.garmer@globalchildforum.org
Media contact:
Linda Ravin Lodding
Head of Communications
+46 72 387 0248
linda.lodding@globalchildforum.org
About Global Child Forum
Global Child Forum is a Swedish non-profit foundation, initiated by H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf and H.M. Queen Silvia of Sweden, that mobilises leaders in business, civil society, academia and government to advance children’s rights. Through data, insight and convening power, Global Child Forum supports companies and investors to put children’s rights at the heart of strategy and practice.
